[Adam-Utd]

Wasn't at his best today but people suddenly saying he's not good enough is laughable hyperbolic BS as usual.

If anybody was to blame AWB should have got up faster and dealt with it instead of making Maguire run over to Stanislas.

Obviously once he got there he should have done better but I genuinely don't think he expected it, probably thought he was going to cut it back into the box.

 

[DoomSlayer]

I think there is a very particular issue at hand. Currently, our best defensive trio in the middle (2 CBs and DM) are Maguire, Lindelof and Matic. Great in terms of ability on the ball but it's obvious how much it's missing pace and tenacity.

These 3 players will struggle against the top teams that excel in pressing higher up the pitch and that have players who are great at pouncing on mistakes or creating counter-attack opportunities. The positive is that we should mostly have no problems in dealing with weaker sides or the ones who rely mainly on physicality and aerial threat.

Considering the fact that Maguire is the most expensive defender in football history and his stats show he's had a great first season, one of Lindelof or Matic needs to be upgraded with a player that can cover the weaknesses of the other 2. Might be harsh on them but it's the only way to properly challenge for the big trophies.

Maguire should really stop exposing himself like that though, sometimes his decisions to be so aggressive lead to him getting absolutely embarrassed due to lacking any sort of agility or recovery pace. Maybe he feels like it's the only way that he can prove himself, but I think Ole needs to have a word and think about finding a solution to this glaring issue. If we try to outplay some of the top teams instead of choosing the counter-attack strategy, this flaw in our central defensive areas will get exposed all the time.

 

[Pav1878]

So many Maguire apologists on here.

Why don't we all just call a spade a spade? He has his qualities but he has blatant weaknesses which are exposed on a regular basis. Basically he is not a top defender and certainly not worth the money we paid.

How anyone can't see that I really can't understand.

If we want to win the top prizes again, we need two world class centre backs, not just a partner for Maguire. We need to replace Maguire.

Mark my words, our team will develop nicely everywhere except central defence if he stays long term and we will end up replacing him.

Prime example? John Stones at City. Overhyped at the time and they paid big money at the time, lauded as the next big thing and England regular etc, and now look at him. One mistake after another and they are looking at shipping him out. Laporte is top dog there now.

Ask yourselves this, who have been our best centre backs? Vidic, Rio, Stam. Is Maguire as good as them? Not even close.

 

[Revan]

there were a catalogue of errors leading up to that goal tbh

1. Greenwood doesn’t close down to stop the cross coming in
2. Lindelöf doesn’t clear the ball when it comes into the box
3. AWB not getting back quick enough once ball comes into the box to stanislas
4.Maguire gets nutmegged then froze
5. DDG getting beat easily at his near post

All the blame shouldn’t be on maguire, none of these guys covered themselves in glory for the goal.

6. Rashford was on the other side of the pitch looking.
7. Ole did not put another defender in the pitch to cover Maguire.
8. Fred the red was missing and did not make players happy.
9. The tea lady forgot to put honey on the tea.

So many mistakes, harsh to put everything on Maguire.

 

[Pav1878]

How is getting nutmegged an error? Embarrassing yes but he was running over to cover after a good block. How do you propose he keeps his legs shut whilst remaining agile?

You don't stand square on to the attacker. That is the basics of defending.
You especially don't stand square on if it takes you hours to move position. You stand side on, ready to turn either way.

 

[Davie Moyes]

Just seen the goal now. Surprised at all the criticism for Harry. Whilst it's poor defending I would put the blame 60-40 on De Gea beaten at near post.

 

[lsd]

Wasn't at his best today but people suddenly saying he's not good enough is laughable hyperbolic BS as usual.

If anybody was to blame AWB should have got up faster and dealt with it instead of making Maguire run over to Stanislas.

Obviously once he got there he should have done better but I genuinely don't think he expected it, probably thought he was going to cut it back into the box.

You really couldnt make up the excuses Maguire stans come up with on here .

Im just surprised Jesse Lingard isn't being blamed as well

 

[passing-wind]

Maguire's been skinned on numerous occasions since the restart is also prone to a lack of awareness from time to time. The money we paid is not a justification to his ability he's a top 6 centehalf. Certainly not the level of a VVD.

 

[Sean_RedDevil]

He is a very good defender and his signing was so far positive.........but today was definitely his worst performance for us.

 

[passing-wind]

I thought become a generational CB doesn't have to be good at defending. Like Ramos?

This is also an ideology I cannot understand Ramos is a world class defender and has been for years at Madrid. The only thing anyone should question Sergio for is his discipline.

 

[SadlerMUFC]

I had a boss who said to me "if you're going to feck up, feck up big because it's the little stupid mistakes that drive me crazy. And as long as it doesn't become "the norm" we can deal with the big mistakes."

Maguire has made two big mistakes. But the clown behind him who could have easily bailed him out, decided he was going to continue his big f*ck ups. So while Maguire has been a rock for the most part and can be excused for his couple of mistakes, De Gea on the other hand is making a habit of "fecking up big". I know what I would do to fix that...

 

[Revan]

I had a boss who said to me "if you're going to feck up, feck up big because it's the little stupid mistakes that drive me crazy. And as long as it doesn't become "the norm" we can deal with the big mistakes."

Maguire has made two big mistakes. But the clown behind him who could have easily bailed him out, decided he was going to continue his big f*ck ups. So while Maguire has been a rock for the most part and can be excused for his couple of mistakes, De Gea on the other hand is making a habit of "fecking up big". I know what I would do to fix that...

.

Awesome. Maguire who has done so far feck all for United made two mistakes today that cost us goals, but that is okay. However ‘the clown’ who was the difference for us on not finishing in bottom half of the table for half a decade fecked up by not saving a shot from 6 yards and another penalty.

 

[SadlerMUFC]

.

Awesome. Maguire who has done so far feck all for United made two mistakes today that cost us goals, but that is okay. However ‘the clown’ who was the difference for us on not finishing in bottom half of the table for half a decade fecked up by not saving a shot from 6 yards and another penalty.

Maguire had a poor game. If it becomes a habit then I will be concerned. So yes, for now he gets a pass. When De Gea first started making mistakes, he got a pass as well. But when they continue to happen, those passes start to dry up. Also, nobody blamed De Gea for not saving a penalty. However, I will assume you work for The Sun with that kind of intellectual dishonesty when you say "for not saving a shot from 6 yards" because much like The Sun, you are leaving a whole lot out of that statement. Especially considering I would have saved that. Then again, unlike De Gea, I know my angles...

 

[Revan]

Maguire had a poor game. If it becomes a habit then I will be concerned. So yes, for now he gets a pass. When De Gea first started making mistakes, he got a pass as well. But when they continue to happen, those passes start to dry up. Also, nobody blamed De Gea for not saving a penalty. However, I will assume you work for The Sun with that kind of intellectual dishonesty when you say "for not saving a shot from 6 yards" because much like The Sun, you are leaving a whole lot out of that statement. Especially considering I would have saved that. Then again, unlike De Gea, I know my angles...

Yeah, I work for Sun, with my intellectual dishonesty.

By, the way, do you realize that Maguire has made more mistakes that have lead to goal this season than De Gea? What would that say about your intellectual 'honesty'?

 

[shahzy]

Maguire had a poor game. If it becomes a habit then I will be concerned. So yes, for now he gets a pass. When De Gea first started making mistakes, he got a pass as well. But when they continue to happen, those passes start to dry up. Also, nobody blamed De Gea for not saving a penalty. However, I will assume you work for The Sun with that kind of intellectual dishonesty when you say "for not saving a shot from 6 yards" because much like The Sun, you are leaving a whole lot out of that statement. Especially considering I would have saved that. Then again, unlike De Gea, I know my angles...

I dont think the goal today was a mistake. It was shot from about 3 metres away max. You cant react to that. Just gotta hope it hits you. The rhetoric currently is De gea is making mistakes and therefore you are seeing this performance under that lense. For you it looks like a mistake because you are going into watching him with that mindset. Its the Reticular Activating System of the brain at work. Highly recommend giving that a read if you got a spare minute. Quite interesting phenomenon

 

[bond19821982]

.

Awesome. Maguire who has done so far feck all for United made two mistakes today that cost us goals, but that is okay. However ‘the clown’ who was the difference for us on not finishing in bottom half of the table for half a decade fecked up by not saving a shot from 6 yards and another penalty.

Exactly, Maguire has done feck all for United and doesn't deserve any pass.
Both are making silly mistakes and we should start looking for replacements.

 

[hmchan]

Is he generally a good player and defender? Yes I'd say so. Is he worth 80m pounds? Absolutely nowhere near. He's a good defender, don't think he's world-class and don't think he ever will be but the fee paid for him isn't his fault.

We all know he wasn't good enough for the first goal but the main thing that irritates me about him is the amount of time he labors on the ball deciding what he wants to do with it. Nobody seems to talk about it but not only is he generally slow in terms of circulating the ball but there are at least 5 times a game where he'll stand completely still for numerous seconds pondering the best decision and movement to make. I can see the argument that this is preferred to a defender who doesn't think proactively at all but for a player we have paid a premium for I'd expect he can at the very least carry the ball forward as he makes his mind up with what he wants to do with it - standing completely still has such a negative impact on our momentum and tempo at times.

True. When Maguire tries to stand still, this does not only slow down our momentum but also allows the opposition to close down options. On many occassions he just gives the ball away after thinking for numerous seconds (e.g. 1:21 in the video). Imo he is not great even if you judge him as a ball playing defender.

 

[SadlerMUFC]

Yeah, I work for Sun, with my intellectual dishonesty.

By, the way, do you realize that Maguire has made more mistakes that have lead to goal this season than De Gea? What would that say about your intellectual 'honesty'?

And how was Maguire to blame for the second goal? It was Matic who made the poor pass back and Bailley who handled it??? De Gea is living off past glories. My guess is you have De Gea posters up on your wall so you're feeling a little butt hurt seeing people call him out for his mistakes. And yes, Maguire should have done much better for that first goal. Getting nutmegged is an embarrassment. But as embarrassing as that was, De Gea didn't even come close to covering his angle there. It should have been routine, but once again he was in the wrong position. BTW...going into the game De Gea was tied for number one with the most mistakes that have lead to a goal since 2018/19. Guess he's got #1 all on his own now...

 

[Revan]

True. When Maguire tries to stand still, this does not only slow down our momentum but also allows the opposition to close down options. On many occassions he just gives the ball away after thinking for numerous seconds (e.g. 1:21 in the video). Imo he is not great even if you judge him as a ball playing defender.

Thing is that this video does not eve cover all of them (Van Diijk's goal, Winjauldum making memes with him, and of course, today).

To hear people that this has been an amazing transfer, I just don't know. It is shocking.

 

[Water Melon]

Strong in air, poor in one on ones. Gives risky passes when trying to play a ball from the back. Something is very wrong. Hopefully, just a short dip in form.

 

[hmchan]

If the staff could go back in time they'd make Bruno the 80m priority signing for the summer

Still don't know why we went from not willing to buy him for 65m to paying 80m upfront a year later. We already knew the fee was inflated. A bit disappointed we now need to go back to the transfer market yet again with a CB on our list

Maguire vs Smalling, Bruno vs Lingard/Pereira, everyone knows the latter would be a more significant upgrade and bring a larger impact to the team. It's irritating to see people defending Ole by "if we brought in Bruno half a season earlier we would blah blah blah" because it's his decision to prioritize Maguire's signing in the first place.

 

[SadlerMUFC]

I dont think the goal today was a mistake. It was shot from about 3 metres away max. You cant react to that. Just gotta hope it hits you. The rhetoric currently is De gea is making mistakes and therefore you are seeing this performance under that lense. For you it looks like a mistake because you are going into watching him with that mindset. Its the Reticular Activating System of the brain at work. Highly recommend giving that a read if you got a spare minute. Quite interesting phenomenon

You don't have to react. You just have to be in the right position. Get the angle right and the player has nowhere to shoot but straight at you. De Gea showed him the entire inside post. He should be a good 8-10 inches to his right when the shot is taken. And no, this has nothing to do with a "reticular activating system". I have been a keeper for most of my life and have never been impressed with De Gea for anything other than his agility. He doesn't know how to play his position and has been getting by on pure agility. He has horrible technique, horrible positioning, and isn't commanding enough of his area. When Real Madrid were coming for him, I was saying "yes, sell him". Maybe others may be a part of your theory, but not me. Sorry to disappoint you...

 

[meamth]

So many Maguire apologists on here.

Why don't we all just call a spade a spade? He has his qualities but he has blatant weaknesses which are exposed on a regular basis. Basically he is not a top defender and certainly not worth the money we paid.

How anyone can't see that I really can't understand.

If we want to win the top prizes again, we need two world class centre backs, not just a partner for Maguire. We need to replace Maguire.

Mark my words, our team will develop nicely everywhere except central defence if he stays long term and we will end up replacing him.

Prime example? John Stones at City. Overhyped at the time and they paid big money at the time, lauded as the next big thing and England regular etc, and now look at him. One mistake after another and they are looking at shipping him out. Laporte is top dog there now.

Ask yourselves this, who have been our best centre backs? Vidic, Rio, Stam. Is Maguire as good as them? Not even close.

This summary you made is on his first debut season.

Great analysis. You have no faith on player growth.

 

[Pav1878]

This summary you made is on his first debut season.

Great analysis. You have no faith on player growth.

Every player needs time to bed in, but at 80million should be we expect the finished article?

 

[Classical Mechanic]

You don't stand square on to the attacker. That is the basics of defending.
You especially don't stand square on if it takes you hours to move position. You stand side on, ready to turn either way.

After watching it back in a more sober state of mind I agree. In his defence because he was running to cover a different position he didn’t have much time to get set but he could have done better.

Although I disagree with your overall appraisal.

 

[11101]

You don't stand square on to the attacker. That is the basics of defending.
You especially don't stand square on if it takes you hours to move position. You stand side on, ready to turn either way.

That's true but not what he did wrong for their goal. He was sprinting to get there so it's impossible not to be square on. What he did wrong was going in too aggressively, he made the attackers mind up to take him on. If he had stopped a foot or so shorter he would have been in a much better place to force a pass or react to a challenge, instead of getting caught on his heels like he did.

 

[DoomSlayer]

People need to realise that Maguire has been playing almost every game possible, sometimes even playing through injury too.

Right now he might be struggling with fitness or might be carrying a small niggle, but the problem is we can't rest him or rotate him, especially if Lindelof is properly injured and won't be able to play.

 

[Adam-Utd]

You really couldnt make up the excuses Maguire stans come up with on here .

Im just surprised Jesse Lingard isn't being blamed as well

It’s really not an excuse, your CB shouldn’t have to be pulled out wide and AWB was poor in that situation. Maguire was on the floor too but recovers a lot faster, gets up and runs over to shut it down.

obviously after that getting megged and not reacting was poor but there’s plenty that could have been done to stop that.

 

[Trophy Room]

He's a good defender but we clearly overpaid. Would have thought Tuanzebe with his pace and power would be the ideal partner for him. Unfortunately, Axel is injury prone and cannot be relied upon. Vidic would have been slaughtered had it not been for Rio by his side and vice versa. Central defence is a partnership.

People often also forget that players develop. He'll get better.

 

[meamth]

Every player needs time to bed in, but at 80million should be we expect the finished article?

Im asking you, for 80 million, the guy came to the club, played 90% amount of games, suddenly becomes a captain, and performed great almost 8 times out of 10. Isn't that too much?

Mistakes do happen, and this is all in his first season. Suddenly we are out shopping for a new center back, when it will ever end?

Maguire will look to improve himself to the United standard because he knows he can, same as others that is still with the club.

 

[DoomSlayer]

Im asking you, for 80 million, the guy came to the club, played 90% amount of games, suddenly becomes a captain, and performed great almost 8 times out of 10. Isn't that too much?

Mistakes do happen, and this is all in his first season. Suddenly we are out shopping for a new center back, when it will ever end?

Maguire will look to improve himself to the United standard because he knows he can, same as others that is still with the club.

I agree, but he does need to improve on those glaring mistakes. It's also true that Victor is not the best fit for Maguire, which is harsh on the Swede, but we need to look at a top CB with pace and adequate ability on the ball.

 

[Pav1878]

All of a sudden we are looking for a CB with pace to play next to Maguire.

Listen to yourselves. For £80million Maguire should have it all FFS.

 

[DoomSlayer]

All of a sudden we are looking for a CB with pace to play next to Maguire.

Listen to yourselves. For £80million Maguire should have it all FFS.

Did you ever watch Maguire before? He never had pace.

We overpaid, it's true but we should continue our progress and look for the best solution. Maguire is better than Lindelof, not £80 million better, but still he is a more imposing CB. We need someone that complements him better, which is a shame for Victor, because I like him, but he can then become a great squad player.

 

[Keefy18]

Man’s going all in.

whoscored agrees with you - https://www.whoscored.com/Statistics

Where? I don't see anything on there about Maguire at all.

It's a rubbish tool to use to support the argument when you scroll down to see Micheal Keane with a 9.3 rating and in the top XI for Europe's top 5 leagues alongside Tarkowski with a 8.1 rating?!

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Where? I don't see anything on there about Maguire at all.

It's a rubbish tool to use to support the argument when you scroll down to see Micheal Keane with a 9.3 rating and in the top XI for Europe's top 5 leagues alongside Tarkowski with a 8.1 rating?!

You're looking at weekly ratings. Look at the seasonal team. It is a limited tool though.

Their team of the season thus far is:

-----------------Fernandez--------------
R Pereira-VVD-Maguire-Davies
Messi--KDB---Sancho--Werner
------Ronaldo----------Lewa---------

 

[DoomSlayer]

You're looking at weekly ratings. Look at the seasonal team. It is a limited tool though.

Yeah, I saw that too. According to stats, Maguire and Van Dijk have been the best CBs in the top 5 leagues.

 

[Sultan]

All of a sudden we are looking for a CB with pace to play next to Maguire.

Listen to yourselves. For £80million Maguire should have it all FFS.

I urge you to have a glimpse at United's defensive record over the last 15 games. The team is now beginning to gel in all areas of the pitch. Defensive duties do not start and end with Maguire. The defensive record might still have been better had it not been a number of uncharacteristic errors from De Gea.

United have the let in the same goals as City. Two more than Leicester, and just one more than Sheffield. Basically, not a bad return for a defence assembled at the beginning of the season with new recruits.

 

[Keefy18]

This summary you made is on his first debut season.

Great analysis. You have no faith on player growth.

He's 27... he should be hitting his peak.

He's about the same level as Smalling.

I argued this in the summer and folks were having none of it.

And before you go off on one about Smalling, if you look at every defensive aspect in the performance data the differences are minimal between the two.

 

[Keefy18]

You're looking at weekly ratings. Look at the seasonal team. It is a limited tool though.

Their team of the season thus far is:

-----------------Fernandez--------------
R Pereira-VVD-Maguire-Davies
Messi--KDB---Sancho--Werner
------Ronaldo----------Lewa---------

Ah OK.

Not sure I agree with him in there.

He's had his moments this season where he's done well but other games as well he's a calamity.

 

[DarkChild™]

Very poor display, let's see his character in the next few games.